Halloween!

Cassidy didn't quite make it to the trick or treating. She did get a lot of compliments though.

Uncle Nick joined us for trick or treating. He used Ryan's clothes to dress up as a pilot.

The anticipation!

Aren't they cuties?

Success!

We had a great Halloween. It wasn't unbearable cold so that was good. We went to a fun neighborhood where a lot of the people just wait for the trick or treaters on their lawns or drive ways. We even had a cop car drive through passing out candy. After we were done we ate pizza and of course CANDY.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was the Trunk or Treat/Chili Cookoff. This was a day of mass stress for me. My mother in law was coming into town this afternoon so I was busily cleaning my house, making my costume and making chili for the Chili cook off that I DIDN'T sign up to do but Ryan did it for me. I just wanted to go easy and bring a bag of Fritos but in the end between Ryan and I we had signed up to bring one of everything. I have never made chili before so I was a little stressed. I decided to use my beans that I get from WIC that I thought I would never use and make my chili from scratch. Boy this was fun.

I was so excited for the trunk or treat at the church because it is where I could justifyable dress up. I found Cassidy's Wonderwoman costume at a consignment sale and that sparked the idea of a Super Hero theme. I thought it turned out great!



So we zoomed down to the airport, picked up my MIL and BIL, and ran home to get ready for the Trunk or Treat. I thought by being a little late that I would avoid the competition part of the chili cookoff but they caught me right as the judging was starting. Bummer. The party was so fun. They had great games, good food, and great costumes. So I was busily taking pictures of Cassidy when I heard my name announced over the microphone. I knew they were giving out awards for the chili cookoff but didn't hear why my name was announced. I asked if they just announced the grossest chili and that is why they called me. Well, to my surprised I won the heartiest chili.

Eva took the kids around for the Trunk or Treat while Cassidy and I passed out candy. Cassidy was lovin' the basket of candy and was trying to get her hands on all that she could. The kids had a great time at the party and filled their bags with candy. Ryan wasn't able to come till the very end because he was in training.

My Pumpkins pickin' pumpkins

We tried out a new place this year to pick out pumpkins. It was no Huber Farms so but fine just the same. They had a corn maze, some tricycles for the kids to ride around, a hay stack the kids could climb and lots of pumpkins but not in a patch. It was really cold so we were fine that there wasn't a lot to do outside. Plus, this place was a lot closer to us. The drive was beautiful. The leaves are changing and it is just gorgeous.

The above picture is my favorite picture of the day. I just think it is so funny!

Ryan and the kids are trying to hide from me in the corn maze so they could scare me!

Every year when we get ready to carve pumpkins we somehow think that are kids can actually carve them themselves. Well, Ryan and I were smarter this year and realized we end up doing it all ourselves and the kids just bug us to get it done faster. So we went with only 2 pumpkins and really easy jackolantern designs. It was quite a success.

From this:

To this:

To this:

New Vocabulary

So today I was doubly shocked by two new words that each of my kids used.

Aidan: While eating saltine crackers Aidan said to me, "Look mom, this cracker is a diamond shape and this cracker is a rhombus." (My thoughts: rhombus? what the heck is a rhombus?)

Lacey: She went to a birthday party that they were able to wear their Halloween costumes to. I decided to put some make up on her to finish off her look. I put mascara on her (she calls that making her eye lashes long), some glittery blush and then some lipstick. I told her she was all done and she immediately said, "Mom you forgot to blot my lipstick." ( My thoughts: Blot? Seriously, you just said blot? She has spent way too much time with Grandma Nana because apparently at her house you ALWAYS blot your lipstick.)

So I say thank you to Aidan's teacher for teaching him what a rhombus is and thank you to Grandma Nana for teaching Lacey to blot her lipstick.

Notes from Aidan

I have been getting these notes from Aidan lately. He will just come and hand them to me. I think he is trying to tell me something. Do you think he is mad at me by chance?

Yeah, that is a picture of me.

Oh how he has tainted them

So before we came back from Utah, Ryan told the kids that he had surprises for them from his trip to SD. On our flight home the kids were so excited for their surprises and as we were talking about our excitement, Lacey said, "I hope our surprises are turkeys in our beds." Reference What is he doing to my children?????

Luckily they were happy with a hunter orange hat with a pheasant on it for Aidan and a pink camo t-shirt for Lacey.

Good Friends

On our trip to Utah I was able to see three friends from days gone by that I hadn't seen for several years. It was so much fun to see their little families and be in their homes. I love friends. It is so hard sometimes to keep up with all the friends in life that you have made in different places at different points in your life. There is a sweetness to the relationship you hold with each friend and what part of your life they experienced with you. I wish I could gather all the friends I have ever had and keep them close to me. I miss each one, SO MUCH. It is hard to let some close relationships change and develop. But I hold a reverence for each one in my heart and though my communication may not be often or our visits infrequent I still love them and will always cherish the unique gift they each are to me in my life. So if you are my friend or ever have been...I LOVE YOU and thank you for being my friend!

In honor of the Hunt

Hunting season started this last weekend and Ryan was able to go to South Dakota to hunt pheasant with his Grandpa and Uncle. It is a tradition that he hasn't been able to participate in for a long time. So I was a hunter's widow. Nothing really different than any other day of the week for me, but this time Ryan was playing instead of working and I get a cool new title for the weekend like, "Hunter's widow". I was happy to have him go for some good male bonding. But in honor of hunting I thought I would share some pics of my hunters in training.

Pretty good wouldn'tcha say?

It came out!

Today while Aidan was at the doctor's office (yeah, he has strep) his tooth came out. They had just swabbed his throat so he was sitting on my lap. Just after the doctor left the room something fell out of his mouth and bounced off my lap onto the floor. Both Aidan and I were shocked that it was his tooth. He said he just pulled on it with his finger. After I gave Aidan a tissue for the bleeding I scoured the floor to find his tooth. I was shocked how small it was. We put it in a little bag for the car ride home and then he put it in a little yellow treasure box and immediately put it under his pillow. He was so excited and won't stop sticking his tongue through the hole, which of course is the coolest part of losing a tooth.

He asked me how big the tooth fairy was. I told him small enough to sneak in our house and big enough to carry his tooth. He concluded that she was two feet tall but was invisible. Hmm, we will see if we spot her tonight.

Lunch with Aidan

Yesterday at Aidan's school the parents were invited to eat lunch with their child. Lacey was at school and Ryan was at work, so Cassidy and I had a lunch date with Aidan. We were all excited. I asked Aidan what he wanted me to bring for lunch. He started listing off a typical lunch. I had to remind him I could bring ANYTHING. He opted for bread sticks with garlic butter dipping sauce, a red Gatorade and lofthouse cookie. So that is what we had. It was so fun. He showed me all the kids in his class and told me something about them. After lunch we went to the Book Fair (the real reason they wanted the parents to come). He picked out a new reader book, a book for Lacey and a poster of a fighter jet that he has been talking about for a week. Then I walked him back to class. It was so much fun!

As I was there I thought about a time I had lunch with my sister, Rachael. I was in junior high and it was 2 days before the Thanksgiving break. My sister had just returned home for the holiday from BYU. I was standing in line to get my typical hot lunch when I looked over and saw my sister walk in with a big box. I was shocked to see her. She pulled me out of line and sat me down. She continued to pull out of the box my mom's CHINA, place mats and goblets along with a KFC meal. So she and I ate in my lunch room on my mom's finest serving ware. It was so funny and such a fun surprise. I was the talk of the whole lunch room. Everyone noticed and were asking who my sister was. They all thought she was so pretty. It is a moment I will never forget.

My definition of Heaven

Bravery of a Boy

In the last couple of months, Aidan developed a mole on his shoulder. It really bothered him and he would pick at it until it was bleeding. So we decided to go to a dermatologist and get it removed. At the end of August they removed the mole. As is customary, they had to do a biopsy on it to make sure everything was okay. We received a phone call from the dermatologist himself with the conclusion that the mole was actually a Spitz Nevus. Because of this, it was necessary so remove the cells that were deeper into the skin so it wouldn’t grow back. In order to do this, Aidan would have to go to the hospital for a small surgery.

His surgery was this morning. It was early in the morning and we were both a little frazzled. Aidan was so brave though. He only teared up once. I didn’t cry until they took him from me and I was safely in the privacy of the bathroom. Then the tears were impossible to hold back. The surgery only took 15 minutes. Everything went really well. He has 6 stitches on his left shoulder. I was able to see him about 30 minutes after the surgery was over. He was mad when I saw him but I think it was because they took off his underwear without him knowing and that ticked him off. It also could have been that they were going to have to pull his loose tooth so it wouldn't interfere with the tube in his throat. They ended up not having to and he was a little disappointed that he still had his tooth. I was so happy they didn't have to take it out because I wanted him to experience loosing his tooth on his own. He was pretty mellow for a bit but I could see him returning to himself. He had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair which I couldn’t tell if liked or not. Once we were in the car he was acting himself, rocking out to music and playing the PSP.

I am so proud of the cute boy. Seriously he was so brave and didn’t complain once. He is a strong. I am so glad it is over and he is doing fine.

Before

After

Telling the Prophet

Friday night Aidan came over to me on the couch to ask me a question. While he was talking I realized that one of his bottom teeth was sticking out a little bit more than his other teeth. I stopped him mid-sentence and pushed on it. To my surprise it moved! AIDAN HAS HIS FIRST LOOSE TOOTH!!! It is one of those "My boy is growing up" moments. I still can't believe it. Aidan was so excited when he realized that it was loose and what was about to happen in his life. His tongue has been constantly playing with it and everyday he hopes it is the day it comes out.

Saturday we were watching conference and were in the middle of Pres. Monson's talk. Cassidy needed a diaper change and Lacey needed the crayons down so Ryan and I put his talk on "pause" and both left to help the two girls. Aidan was left alone in the living room and he was sitting quite close to the tv. While I was in changing Cassidy I heard Aidan say, "President Monson". I could tell he was talking to him so I listened intently to hear what Aidan had to say to President Monson. He then said, "I have a loose tooth." And I'm sure he wiggled it a couple of times to show him. It was just so cute to hear him say that.

Miracle or a dork?

I lost my cell phone 2 1/2 weeks ago. We have looked everywhere for it. The car, bags, jackets, kids' toy box, under beds and furniture, at the library and Wal-mart. Couldn't find it anywhere. I'm not a real big loser (well, I'm a loser but not a loser) so I have just been shocked that in all this time we haven't found my phone. I came to the conclusion that the cell phone got bumped into the garbage and I took the garbage out and it was gone forever.

Anyway, yesterday I reached into the outside pocket of my purse for my car keys and guess what...I found my phone. I know I looked in those pockets. It was a logical place for my phone and I was surprised when I had looked in my purse that it wasn't there. I had some pass along cards in the same pocket so I think when I did put my hand in the pocket to look for my phone I just felt the pass along cards. So all this time that I have been without a phone, I have just been carrying it around in my purse. What a dork I am. But I would like to believe that I really accidentally through my phone out in the garbage and God provided me with a miracle and got the phone out of the garbage and put it in my purse. That's what I am going to believe so I don't feel like such a dork.

Cotton Candy

We went to a Fall Festival at the Stake Center this last Saturday. The kids had a great time winning candy at all the games, jumping in the bouncers and eating cotton candy. I invested a lot of time into getting them cotton candy. The line took about 30 minutes so I stood in line while they played the games next to me. When I got to the front of the line they stopped the machine and I was questioning if they were out of stuff. The Stake President was the one making the cotton candy and he said that they were just adding more ingredients. I was relieved because I didn't want to get all the way to the front and then have them run out. So Aidan and Lacey were given their cotton candy and I stepped to the side. Well, the Stake President said, "You can't stand in this long line and not get some cotton candy for the two of you." (referring to me and Cassidy) When he handed me the cotton candy Cassidy's face lite up like never before. Thank goodness my friend was right by to quickly take some pics because these say it all.